GESTALT THERAPY

Gestalt therapy focuses on the skills and techniques that permit an individual to be more aware of their
feelings. According to this approach, it is much more important to understand what and how clients are
feeling, rather than to identify what is causing their feelings. Previous theories are thought to spend an
unnecessary amount of time making assumptions about what causes behavior. Instead, Gestalt therapy
focuses on the here and now.

a. The patient is assisted to express feeling directly

CLIENT'S VERBAL BEHAVIOR OR LANGUAGE. Awareness can be enhanced

and emphasized through the client's verbal behavior or language since client
speech patterns are considered to be an expression of their feelings, thoughts,
and attitudes. Some aspects of language that might indicate the clients'
avoidance of strong emotions or of self-responsibility are the general pronouns
such as "it" and "you." Clients are instructed to substitute, when appropriate, the
personal pronoun "I" for these pronouns to assume a sense of responsibility for
his or her feelings or thoughts (ownership). Sometimes clients may be asked to
change their questions into direct statements in order to assume responsibility for
what they say. Other examples of helping clients to be more in control using
language are to have them omit qualifiers and disclaimers such as "maybe,"
"perhaps," or "I guess" from their language patterns. This
changes ambivalent and weak statements into more clear and direct statements;
to substitute "I won't" for "I can't" because often "can't" gives the feeling of being
unable to do something. It may be more accurate to say "I won't" meaning "I
choose not to do this for any of various reasons," or use the word, "want" instead
of "need" which is considered an indication of urgency and anxiety, and is less
accurate. Other changes might be to change "should" and "ought" to "I choose
to" or "I want to" increasing the clients' power and control of their lives.

B. Various techniques, such as role playing are used to act out past experienced
and feelings -----
NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR. Awareness can also be enhanced by focusing on nonverbal
behavior and may include any technique that makes the clients more aware of their
body functioning or helps them to be aware of how they can use their bodies to support
excitement, awareness, and contact. The parts of the body that therapists may attend to
include the mouth, jaw, voice, eyes, nose, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, legs,
feet, and the entire body. The therapist, for example, may point out to and explore with
the client how he or she is smiling while at the same time expressing anger.
SELF-DIALOGUE. Self-dialogue by clients is an intervention used by Gestalt
therapists that allows clients to get in touch with feelings that they may not be unaware
of and, therefore, increase the integration of different parts of clients that do not match
or conflicts in clients. Examples of some common conflicts include "the parent inside
versus the child inside, the responsible one versus the impulsive one, the puritanical
side versus the sexual side, the 'good side' versus the 'bad side,' the aggressive self
versus the passive self, the autonomous side versus the resentful side, and the hard
worker versus the goof-off." The client is assisted in accepting and learning to live with
his or her polarities and not necessarily getting rid of any one part or trait.
The client is engaged in the self-dialogue by using what is called the empty-chair
technique. Using two chairs, the client is asked to take one role (for example, the parent
inside) in one chair and then play the other role (for example, the child inside) in the
second chair. As the client changes roles and the dialogue continues between both
sides of the client he or she moves back and forth between the two chairs. Again
according to Corey, other examples of situations in which dialogues can be used
include "one part of the body versus the other (one hand versus the other), between a
client and another person, or between the self and object such as a building or an
accomplishment."
ENACTMENT AND DRAMATIZATION. Enactment increases awareness through the
dramatizing of some part of the client's existence by asking him or her to put his or her
feelings or thoughts into action such as instructing the client to "Say it to the person (
when in group therapy)," or to role-play using the empty chair technique. "Put words to
it" is also often said to the client. Exaggeration is a form of enactment in which clients
are instructed to exaggerate a feeling, thought or a movement in order to provide more
intensity of feelings. Enactment can be therapeutic and give rise to creativity.
GUIDED FANTASY. Guided fantasy (visualization) is a technique some clients are able
to use more effectively than using enactment to bring an experience into the here and
now. Clients are asked to close their eyes (if comfortable) and, with the guidance of the
therapist, slowly imagine a scene of the past or future event. More and more details are
used to describe the event with all senses and thoughts.
DREAM WORK. Dream work is most important in Gestalt therapy. The aim is to "bring
dreams back to life and relive them as though they are happening now." Working with
the clients' dreams requires developing a list of all the details of the dream,
remembering each person, event, and mood in it and then becoming each of these
parts through role-playing, and inventing dialogue. Each part of the dream is thought to
represent the clients' own contradictory and inconsistent sides. Dialogue between these
opposing sides leads clients toward gradual insight into the range of their feelings and
important themes in their lives.
AWARENESS OF SELF AND OTHERS. An example of how this technique is used by
the Gestalt therapist is having the client to "become" another person such as asking
"the client to be his mother and say what his mother would say if the client came in at
2:00 A.M." This provides more insight for the client rather just asking what the client
thinks his mother would say if he came home at 2:00 A.M.
AVOIDANCE BEHAVIORS. Awareness of and the reintegration the client's avoidance
behaviors are assisted by the interventions used to increase and enhance awareness of
feelings, thought, and behaviors.
HOMEWORK. Homework assignments between therapy sessions may include asking
clients to write dialogues between parts of themselves or between parts of their bodies,
gather information, or do other tasks that are related to and fit with what is going on in
the therapy process. Homework may become more difficult as the awareness develops.

The empty chair technique[edit]

Empty chair technique or chairwork is typically used in Gestalt therapy when a patient might have
deep rooted emotional problems from someone or something in their life, such as relationships with
themselves, with aspects of their personality, their concepts, ideas, feelings etc., or other people in
their lives. The purpose of this technique is to get the patient to think about their emotions and
attitudes.[23] Common things the patient addresses in the empty chair are another person, aspects of
their personality, a certain feeling etc. was in it.[24] They may also move between chairs and act out
two or more sides of a discussion, typically involving the patient and persons significant to them. It
uses a passive approach to opening up the patients emotions and pent up feelings so they can let
go of what they have been holding back. A form of role-playing, the technique focuses on exploration
of self and is utilized by therapists to help patients self-adjust. Gestalt techniques were originally a
form of psychotherapy, but are now often used in counseling, for instance, by encouraging clients to
act out their feelings helping them prepare for a new job.[25] The purpose of the technique is so the
patient will become more in touch with their feelings and have an emotional conversation that clears
up any long held feelings or reaction to the person or object in the chair.[26] When used effectively, it
provides an emotional release and lets the client move forward in their life
C.Confronting feelings leads to acceptance of self

Unfinished business is defined as the unexpressed feelings that are associated with distinct
memories and fantasies. These feelings may be resentment, rage, hatred, pain, anxiety, grief ,
guilt, and abandonment that are not fully experienced in awareness, linger in the background,
and are carried into the present life and cause preoccupations, compulsive behaviors, wariness,
and other self- defeating behaviors. Unfinished business will persist until the person faces and
deals with these denied or alienated feelings

D.Acceptance of self leads to more mature behavior